Trading Self Confidence for God Confidence – A Bite Size Bible Study

Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. (Jer 17:7 NIV)

A few years ago, the Lord began stirring a longing in me to cultivate a heart for Him like King David in the Bible. One of the qualities that distinguished him in God’s eyes was David placed his complete and full confidence in his God and not in himself. 

Isn’t this what we all need right about now?

The past few years have been unsettling, to say the least. Many of us have endured the loss of loved ones while others are still searching the horizon for our prodigal children to return home. Others are still trying to recover from a devastating illness or the loss of much needed income.

But if we muster up Self Confidence in our effort to overcome, it will only serve to drain us more. The only way to steady our souls and hold our peace is to lock eyes with Jesus, the only One worthy of all our confidence!

The dictionary defines confidence as: the feeling or belief that one can rely on something; firm trust.

Some synonyms of confidence are: trust, belief, faith, credence, conviction, reliance, dependence.

It’s hard to confidently navigate life when we don’t firmly place our trust in the Lord, isn’t it? Sadly, many of us have been misguided along the way to put our trust, confidence and dependence only in ourselves. We try to gird ourselves in our own strength when faced with challenges in life.

This has been me quite often! How about you?

I’m praying for us to cultivate God confidence by girding ourselves in the Lord’s strength and remembering His Truth no matter the challenges that come our way in life. 

Today, we’ll travel back to the Old Testament and spend a little time with David. To begin, please read the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17. Pay attention to how the Israelite army processed the situation in their own strength and how it made them feel. Then notice the perspective that David brings into this same situation and how it fueled his courage.  

David had God Confidence
Here is the setting to the story …

As the chapter opens, we find the Philistine and Israelite armies encamped on opposite mountains with the valley of Elah between them. Verse 4 introduces Goliath, a Philistine giant who stood almost 10 feet tall. His bronze coat of scale armor weighed about 125 pounds and the iron point on his spear weighed about 15 pounds. 

For forty days, Goliath came forward every morning and evening, shouting and defying the ranks of Israel. I imagine his shouts must have echoed off those mountains. Goliath laid down the rules for battle by challenging one man to come down and fight him to determine who would serve who (vv 8-9). Then verse 11 tells us “On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified” (NIV).

Despair overwhelmed the Israelites that day in the valley of Elah because the facts were stacked against them and, like me so many times, they forgot Who was fighting for them.

Then David arrived on the scene.

Too young to be in the army, his father sent him with reinforcements for the troops (v 17). David reached the camp just as the army was taking its battle positions, shouting the war cry (v 20).

David saw Goliath and heard his threats for the first time (vv 23-24) and then he observed how the Israelite army fled in panic because of those words.

The story crescendos here. In the midst of this daunting situation, David asked: “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”(vs 26)

David’s words revealed his God Confidence! He knew the battle belonged to the Lord so he didn’t waste even one minute measuring Goliath’s strength against his own as the other men did. This steadfast confidence in God fueled David’s courage.

Takeaway for today: The self confident girl pits the circumstances in her life against her own strength or lack thereof and finds herself defeated. The God confident girl holds her struggles up to the light of her immoveable Jesus and this helps her to declare her circumstances already defeated in Him.

Next, we witness David come up against three more hindrances that might have taken a self confident person down before the battle even began. But the young shepherd boy, girded in God confidence, prevailed all three times:

1. David Focused on God’s Honor and Not His Own Feelings: David’s intentions were misunderstood and he was publicly rebuked by his eldest brother, Eliab (vv 28-30). I can imagine the laughter that Eliab’s mocking words might have invoked in the ranks. We don’t know if Eliab’s behavior hurt David, but verse 30 tells us David turned away. He refocused.

This convicted me! Recently, I almost let someone’s unkind behavior derail me from keeping in step with the Spirit to complete an important God assignment on time. David’s example reminds me to focus on God’s honor, not my own feelings.

• Takeaway for today: A self confident Girl might feel the need to defend herself and her own honor. The God confident Girl can pause to turn away from conflict to gaze on Jesus. She is growing in her understanding that her reputation, dignity and honor rests in His very capable hands. 

2. David Focused on God’s Strength, Not His Age and Abilities: Saul tells David that he is too young to fight Goliath, who had been a warrior since his youth (vv 33-37). David responded by remembering God’s faithfulness in the past, when He rescued his father’s sheep from both a lion and a bear. David had no doubt that His Heavenly Father would protect and defend the Israelites, His people and His sheep, against Goliath.

Remembering came easy for David because he was in the habit of delighting in the Lord’s goodness and strength. How do we know this? Because many of the psalms David wrote reveal how he delighted in God’s strength and His promises! David also wrote 2 Samuel 22, a incredibly beautiful chapter to meditate on if you would like to begin cultivating the habit of delighting in God and His strength.  

• Takeaway for today: The self confident Girl might see the lion, the bear and Goliath as ever increasing obstacles to deal with herself. The God confident Girl delights to offer up the lion, the bear and the giant as opportunities for God to keep showing up strong for her in life!

3. David Let God Teach Him How to Fight, Not Man: King Saul tried to prepare David for battle by dressing him in his own tunic and armor. But David did not allow this because he wasn’t used to it (vv 38-39). Yahweh Himself taught David how to fight as a young shepherd boy and David was faithful to follow his Commander’s battle strategy.

All of our battles and every one of our victories belong to the LORD, every single time. If we can remember and hold tight to this truth, it will strengthen our hearts and embolden our faith the next time we come face to face with our own giant!

• Takeaway for today: Our King shares His battle strategy with us as well! The God confident Girl knows our fight is never with flesh and blood. God gives us the weapons we need to guard our hearts and minds in Christ so we can stand strong and watch Him fight our battles for us. We offer a helpful resource to guide you here: Praying on the Armor of GOD

David Defeats Goliath …

After removing Saul’s armor, David picked up his staff, sling and five smooth stones and approached Goliath. These were the only weapons he took to fight the heavily armored and protected giant. To the natural eye, the odds seemed stacked in Goliath’s favor once again. But David didn’t see it that way because his confidence was never in himself or his sling!

David tells Goliath: “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (v 45 NIV).

We find a wonderful name of God here. For 40 days and nights, the giant threatened and challenged the men to a one on one battle. David makes it known that Goliath has defied God and was indeed in a one on One battle, but with the LORD Almighty Himself. 

David reminds Goliath that the battle belongs to the LORD: “All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands (vs 47).”

Then verse 49 announces the magnificent end to this battle. The stone sank into Goliath’s forehead and the giant fell face down on the ground! 

Many of us think of David as the hero in this story. This can lead us to believe the lie that God expects us to be a hero the next time we find ourselves confronted by a scary giant in our own stories.

But, when we remember God won the battle for David and His people, then we know God can be our confidence when it’s our turn to face a giant. I’m pretty certain David would want us to extol God as the only hero in this famous story.  

Cultivating God confidence makes us Women after His own heart …

As His Daughters, we’re also soldiers in the army of our living God, just as David was! We contend with a very persistent enemy, but we don’t need to lose heart. The very same God that showed up strong for David wants to fight our battles for us today!  

Remember in 1 Samuel 17:11 when the Israelites were dismayed and terrified by Goliath? God addresses this very thing in Isaiah 41:10:

• “So do not fear, for I Am with you; do not be dismayed, for I Am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (NIV).

Are you facing a situation that is causing you dismay or terror? Take a few minutes to sit with this verse and let His words soak deep into your soul.

God loves it when we delight ourselves in His strength and not in our own. God is good at being God, and we honor Him when we let Him define His role in our stories. May we delight in cultivating some God confidence in our lives to make space for Him to show up strong for us today!

Live loved in Him,

A Woman After God’s Own Heart: Trading Self Confidence for God Confidence @ freshgracefortoday.com

Are you ready to receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?
Please CLICK HERE and I will be honored to pray with you.

Photo Credit: Canva Pro, Deposit Photos